Headlines

Kevin Williamson

Resign, Mr. President

I wrote in passing yesterday that if President Obama or the people of this country had any self-respect, he’d resign over the scandal of the Veterans Affairs hospitals, which needlessly sentenced an unknown number of American veterans to death through their combination of managerial incompetence, medical malpractice, and monstrously cruel indifference to their clients. Other heads of government have resigned for less. President Obama presented himself to the public as an authority in the field of health-care management and as an executive who not only would insist upon but also would in fact achieve the highest standards in transparent, honest, competent government. He has failed, comprehensively. An honest man acknowledges his failures.

Perhaps it is the case that he did not know how bad things were in the VA system. Set aside the question of whether he should have known, for instance by finding the time to take the occasional meeting with General Shinseki, a task the president had not undertaken in more than two years. Sitting behind the Resolute desk means taking responsibility for the totality of the executive branch of the U.S. government, which includes a great many things that are outside of one’s immediate knowledge or control.

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Why would he resign? I’m convinced Dear Leader loves all the havoc he’s caused. I really do. That man has a malevolent soul and he can just sense that our fundamental transformation is nearly complete.

From The One through Jarrett through Kerry Through Clinton and on down to Hagel, they are post-modernists. They believe that “taking responsibility” is the same as someone “placing blame” on them. Both are outdated, barbaric concepts which they have out-evolved, according to them.

And they reject the idea that they can ever be to blame for anything. And if you say otherwise, you are a backward barbarian.

If there is a failure, it is somebody else’s fault. Most often, the American peoples’.

They didn’t work hard enough. They didn’t give their betters enough tax money. They didn’t accept enough guilt. They didn’t give up their cars, their guns, their homes, and their Bibles. They didn’t believe hard enough.

And ultimately, they didn’t admit that they were racists, and evil.

The One and his minions believe all these things to be true. and they believe- fervently- in their own superiority, enlightenment, and absolute perfection. They are the Future of Mankind; the ultimate evolution of, well, evolution.

We are not to blame, they argue, because it is impossible for us to be wrong.

And their corollary to that is,

It is your fault for not worshiping Us as the Gods We know Ourselves to be. Now, feel Our wrath.

You are not dealing with rational people here. You are dealing with delusional dogmatists who mistake their fantasies for Utopia.

And themselves for the Almighty.

God does not resign.

He just ends the world if things don’t go His way.

Keep that in mind when attempting to parse this lot’s rhetoric, or their actions.

.
Dunno where you are getting this since it never happened and the quote you are struggling for is “You’re doing a heck of a job, Brownie” said by President George W. Bush before we knew the devastation wrought by Katrina, the hurricane, and wrought by the incompetence and inattention to duty by Democrats Nagin and Blanco.
.
Democrats. Incompetence. Inattention to duty. Heck of a job there, triple.

Why would he resign? I’m convinced Dear Leader loves all the havoc he’s caused. I really do. That man has a malevolent soul and he can just sense that our fundamental transformation is nearly complete.

I’m not sure your attempt at comparing things to Obama’s (in)action is turning out exactly like you’d intended.

rogerb on May 23, 2014 at 9:14 PM

Indeed.

Isn’t it funny that triple insists that Republicans know and are responsible for everything that happens in their administration, but that Obama doesn’t know and isn’t responsible for anything that happens in his administration?

I think this lack of shame in men like Obama and even Shinsecki, honorable military career and all, or someone like Sebelius reflects the general civic culture. The old way was honor and respect for one’s fellow citizen; the new way is “it’s all about me, and I want it all.”

“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.” –President Bill Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.” –President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

“Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.” –Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

“He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983.” –Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

“[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.” Letter to President Clinton, signed by: — Democratic Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others, Oct. 9, 1998

“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.” -Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

“Hussein has … chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.” — Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

“There is no doubt that … Saddam Hussein has reinvigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies.” Letter to President Bush, Signed by: — Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), and others, Dec 5, 2001

“We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them.” — Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

“We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.” — Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.” — Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.” — Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

“The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons…” — Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

“I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force — if necessary — to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.” — Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

“There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years … We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction.” — Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

“He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do” — Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members … It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.” — Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

“We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.” — Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

“Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime … He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation … And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction … So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real…” — Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

To compare the bride with this, Christie would have had to campaigned against deliberate bridge closures, gone silent able the issue, then find out one closure prevented 40 vets from getting to the hospital and dying and not firing his chief of staff.